WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Lindenwood 77, Idaho State 76 (OT)
@#11 Indiana 87,
Little Rock 68
High Point 77,
Tennessee State 72 (
San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)
LINDENWOOD 77, IDAHIO STATE 76 (OT)
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood men's basketball team (3-4) earned a thrilling 77-76 win over Idaho State (1-4) in overtime as Chris Childs knocked down the game-winning shot on Wednesday night inside Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
The Lions went back-and-forth with the Bengals early, but Idaho State took an eight-point lead at the 13:04 mark of the first half. Lindenwood quickly cut into the deficit, and at the 8:36 mark Childs put the Lions in front 18-17. The Lions rolled on the offensive end, taking a 28-17 advantage with less than five minutes remaining. Childs put Lindenwood ahead by a 32-17 margin in the final minute to take a 15-pont lead into the break.
Lindenwood attacked the paint to outscore the Bengals 16-6 down low, while holding Idaho State to just 3-of-19 shooting from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes. The Lions pulled down 27 rebounds and shot 46.4 percent from the field to hold the halftime lead.
Lindenwood continued to find its groove on offense, as a three-point bucket by Childs gave the Lions a 40-21 lead less than three minutes into the second half. Cam Burrell made a layup with 13:24 to go in the second frame, as the Lions held a 21-point advantage. However, Idaho State caught fire from long range. The Bengals climbed all the way back to tie the game at 61-61 with 5:25 to go in regulation, creating a new ballgame.
Idaho State took a three-point lead less than a minute later, but the Lions stayed poised. With the Lions down by two points, Burrell made two key free throws with 44 seconds to tie the game at 68-68 to send the game into overtime. Kevin Caldwell Jr. was a smooth 6-of-10 from the field in the second half, while Childs made all three of his attempts from the floor.
The Bengals took a three-point lead, and had a chance to take a two-possession lead after a turnover. As Idaho State ran the floor, Caldwell Jr. made an outstanding blocked as he was undersized at the rim. Brandon Trimble grabbed the rebound and found Childs for the three-point bucket to tie the game at 71-71 with just 2:20 to go in overtime.
Idaho State again took a three-point advantage with 38 seconds remaining. On a loose ball, Burrell made a spectacular save to keep possession, and later made the layup to bring the Lions within one point. The Bengals missed both free throws with nine second to go, and Childs knocked down the mid-range jumper to give the Lions the one-point victory.
It was the first win inside Hyland Arena for the Lions over a NCAA Division I team since jumping to the next level. Lindenwood had contributions from all players in the game, as the Lions ended the game shooting 50.8 percent from the floor. Childs led the team with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting, as he pulled down 10 rebounds for the double-double. Caldwell Jr. dropped 20 points, secured eight rebounds, and collected a key block. Burrell made big plays at key points in the game, ending the night with 19 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks. Burrell was 8-of-9 from the field, 1-of-1 from behind the arc, and made both of his free-throw attempts.
#11 INDIANA 87, LITTLE ROCK 68
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Little Rock battled 11th-ranked Indiana for 31 minutes in Skjodt Assembly Hall, trailing by seven with nine minutes remaining. But the Hoosiers pulled away over the final nine minutes to hand the Trojans the 87-68 loss Wednesday night.
Little Rock finished with three players in double figures, led by 20 points from D.J. Smith who tied for the game-high, hitting 5-of-13 from the floor, including 4-of-10 from three point range, and 6-of-8 from the free throw line.
Myron Gardner once again flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists, including 11 in the second half as he and Smith combined for 23 of Little Rock's 38 second half points.
DeAntoni Gordon reached double figures for the sixth-straight game, finishing with 11 points off 5-of-7 shooting. Chris Walker added nine points off the bench for the Trojans with a career-high eight rebounds, as nine of the 10 Trojans that saw action scored.
For the game, Little Rock shot just 33.3%, including 28.0% from three point range (7-of-25). That was countered by Indiana's 57.6% from the floor, including 66.7% in the second half, as the Hoosiers dominated in the paint, outscoring Little Rock 52-22.
Little Rock was outrebounded 41-34, but held a 14-7 edge in offensive boards, and committed just 12 turnovers as opposed to 13 for the Hoosiers. But Indiana was key inside on the defensive end as well, blocking 11 Trojan shots to control the paint and propel the Hoosiers to the win.
After falling behind 6-0 early, Little Rock settled down off a long two from Gordon to start the scoring, using a 7-4 run to pull to within three at 10-7 behind an and-one from Palermo and another jumper from Gordon at the 15:15 mark.
Indiana extended its lead back to nine at 20-11 at the midway point of the first half, but an and-one from Gardner, followed by a transition three from Jefferson helped the Trojans pull to within five at 22-17 with 9:27 remaining in the first half.
The Hoosiers responded with an extended push, leading by as many as 15 at 37-22 with 5:17 remaining, but Little Rock answered with eight-straight, including back-to-back three pointers from Smith, getting to within seven at 37-30 with 1:57 remaining in the half. Indiana hit a jumper with 32 seconds remaining and Little Rock couldn't get a shot off to end the half, trailing 39-30 at halftime.
Little Rock shot 35.5% in the first half, including 4-of-13 from three point range (30.8%) and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the line, led by eight points each from Gordon and Smith. Indiana shot 51.4% from the floor as 34 of the Hoosiers' 39 points were in the paint, compared to just six for Little Rock.
The Trojans used that momentum early in the second half, sparked by seven quick points from Gardner as he and Little Rock battled back to within six at 46-40 and again at 48-42 off baskets from Gardner with just over 15 minutes remaining.
Indiana pushed the lead to 15 at 60-45 with 12:09 remaining, but Little Rock responded with a 12-4 run spanning nearly three minutes, narrowing the gap to seven at 64-57 behind a three from Smith and a put-back from Gordon with 9:04 left in regulation.
But Indiana showed why it is the 11th-ranked team in the country, outscoring Little Rock 23-11 over the final nine minutes to pull away for the victory. The Hoosiers shot 66.7% in the second half, compared to 33.3% for Little Rock, as Indiana knocked down 5-of-10 from beyond the arc to spark the closing run.
HIGH POINT 77, TENNESSEE STATE 72
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. - The Tennessee State men's basketball team got a 28-point showing from the bench, but fell 77-72 to the High Point Panthers at The Pavilion at Jserra Wednesday in the championship game of the SoCal Challenge.
The Tigers (4-2) had four players score in double figures, led by Dedric Boyd, who had 12 points. Adong Makuoi tacked on 12 points and Christian Brown helped out with 12 points off the bench.
The Tennessee State offense made hay from downtown, making eight threes on 28 attempts. Boyd hit two treys for the Tigers in the contest.
Tennessee State forced 16 High Point turnovers while committing 10 themselves in Wednesday's game. The Tigers turned those takeaways into 20 points on the other end of the floor. Zool Kueth led the way individually with two steals.
After falling behind 3-0, Tennessee State went on a 10-0 run with 19:21 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Zion Griffin, to take a 10-3 lead. The Tigers then surrendered that lead and entered halftime down 38-37.
High Point kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 66-64 advantage before Tennessee State went on a 6-0 run, finished off by Marcus Fitzgerald Jr.'s three, to seize a 70-66 lead with 4:22 to go in the contest. High Point re-asserted control, outscoring the Tigers 11-2 the rest of the way to hand Tennessee State the 77-72 loss. Tennessee State took care of business in the paint, recording 18 of its 35 points in the lane.